Method of applying nylon finish to garments



METHOD OF APPLYWG NYLON FINISH TO GNTS Robert S. Horn, .lr., Doylestown,and Roscoe F. Pat's, Stony Creek Mills, Pa, assignors to Hans (1. Rick,l no, Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania No Drawing.Application November 21, 1951, Serial No. 257,652

2 Claims. (Cl. 2609) The present invention relates to a method ofapplying a nylon finish to nylon and other woven or knit fabrics inorder to improve their wearing comfort and other qualities.

In recent years, nylon has been extensively used as a material formaking garments because of its outstanding fast drying, substantiallynonwrinkling, and long wearing characteristics. However, an outstandingundesirable characteristic of a nylon garment when worn in contact withthe body, such as in the case of undergarments and hosiery, is that itdoes not readily absorb moisture, therefore, as a result, the garmentwill often feel hot and sticky in summer or cold and clammy in winter.This inability to absorb moisture can be readily observed by placing adrop of water on the surface of nylon fabric. The water will tend toremain in the form of a droplet, rather than be absorbed by the fabricas in the case of cotton, wool and other fabrics.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel method orprocess of bonding nylon to nylon woven and knit fabrics so that theywill be devoid of the above mentioned undesirable characteristic, morespecifically, so as to make the fabric moisture absorbent.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a novelwater emulsion of nylon which is suitable for bonding nylon to nylonfabric so as to convert the fabric from a nonabsorbing to an absorbingmaterial and thereby provide an amazing increase in comfort in wearbecause of the ability of the finished garment to absorb perspiration,also which will give the garment a much softer and silkier touch.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from a study of the following description:

Many attempts have been made to apply a nylon finish to garments.However, they have not met with success from a commercial standpointbecause nylon solvent solutions are required, many of which areinflammable orotherwise somewhat dangerous to handle as well as beingquite expensive. Many attempts have been made to make water solutions oremulsions of nylon suitable for this purpose, but these have beenunsuccessful. There has been a prevailing view that no satisfactorywater emulsion of nylon can be made for treating fabrics, such as nylonfabrics, to improve their finish.

After considerable experimentation with this problem, We have beensuccessful in compounding and mixing a solution of nylon dispersable inwater to form a nylon emulsion in water which is highly successful whenused in a finishing bath for garments, such as stockings, after thedyeing operation and which provides an amazing increase in moistureabsorbing characteristics, therefore in wearing comfort.

Type 8 nylon, sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., that is, nylon indry, granular form, substantially powdery, or other suitable polyamidresin, can be successfully made into a solution which forms an emulsionwhen mixed with water and therefore useful in a finish- I 2,746,941Ratented May 22, 1956 ing bath by employing the following formula andprocess. Substantially equal parts, by weight, of Type 8 nylon (that is,nylon in granular, dry form which is N-methoxymethyl polyhexamethyleneadipamide as described in U. S. Patent 2,430,860 to T. LS. Cairns datedNovember 18, 1947, column 6 (Example I)), a nonionic emulsifying baseand a partially stabilizing agent, such as a carbohydrate ester resin,for example resinous sucrose octaacetate, are mixed and stirred with asuitable alcohol, having a boiling point less than that of water such asmethyl or alcohol, and thereafter this solution is mixed with wateruntil a water emulsion is formed. More specifically, about thirty-fiveto forty-five pounds of Type 8 nylon sold under the trademark DV-SS andmanufactured by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Delaware, ismixed with thirty-five to forty-five pounds of sucrose octaacetate andwith thirty-five to forty-five pounds of Tergitol Dispersant NPG 101,such as produced by Carbide and Carbon Chemical Corporation (which is analkyl phenyl ether of polyethylene glycol made by adding 7 to 12 mols ofethylene oxide to an alkyl phenol such as octyl phenol or nonyl phenol,or more specifically a non-ionic made by adding 9 to 10 mols of ethyleneoxide to octyl phenol), and to this mixture is added eight hundred tonine hundred pounds of ethyl or methyl alcohol and two hundred to twohundred fifty pounds of water for making up the water emulsive nylonsolution. Only a part of the alcohol, namely about two hundred pounds,is initially mixed with the nylon, sucrose octaacetate and theemulsifying nonionic base (Tergitol Dispersant NPG 101), and is stirredvigorously, preferably with a lightening mixer, so as to form a heavypaste. This heavy paste is then, more advantageously, added to anothermixer with the balance of the alcohol (674 pounds), and stirredvigorously for about fifteen minutes. Water is then added at atemperature of between to 180 F., preferably about F. This is mixeduntil there are no lumps present and the liquid is clear, usuallyrequiring between twenty and thirty minutes of mixing. The solution isthen tested to determine whether a proper emulsion can be obtained. Ifthe emulsion separates immediately, it will be necessary to add morebase and alcohol. The emulsion is sieved through fine cloth.

In the above mentioned formula, it is generally desirable to havesubstantially equal parts by weight of nylon Type 8, sucrose octaacetateand the emulsifying nonionic base. A very suitable, specific formula forproviding a water miscible solution of nylon for forming an emulsion issubstantially as follows:

40 lbs. Type 8 nylon 40 lbs. sucrose octaacetate 40 lbs. emulsifyingnonionic base, such as Tergitol Dispersant NPG 864 lbs. alcohol 216 lbs.water It will be expecially noted that the emulsifying base is nonionicas distinguished from cationic or anti-ionic compatible with nylon in analcohol solution in order to provide a successfully emulsifying watermiscible solution. Instead of the sucrose octaacetate, other suitablepartially stabilizing agents may be used such as other esters of acarbohydrate and organic acid which is compatible with nylon and theemulsifying agent, and is completely soluble in an alcohol solution.Likewise, instead of Tergitol Dispersant NPG, other suitable emulsifyingnonionic bases compatible with nylon in an alcohol solution may be used.Also, instead of Type 8 nylon, other suitable linear polyamide which aresoluble in water-soluble alcohol may be used.

The above water emulsive nylon solution will have a flash point of 68"F., a: fire point of 68* F. and a specific gravity of .881 at 77 F.

After a. suitable. Water soluble, nylon emulsion is obtained inaccordancewith the process. described hereinab.ove,.thi'semulsion is.used. with other material in. a tinishing bath. The finish. is appliedafter the dyeing operation. and is set by the temperature of the bath inthe case of woven goods and further set by a final boarding temperaturein the case of stockings. The nylon emulsion is added with equal parts,by weight... of alcohol to the last rinse through a cloth sieve. Morespecifically, the following. formula is used. in the finishingv bath fortricot and soft piece. goods:

For 100 lbs. nylon hosiery, tricot or soft piece. goods use:

1 lb. BickF. A. (lauryl sulphate) 15 lbs. nylon, water emulsive solution4 to 6 lbs. Methacrol NH (a cationic dispersion of polymethylmethacrylate produced and sold by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.)

3' oz; citric acid The finishing'bath is started at about 85 F. andthere is added dissolved Bick F. A. and the machine is run until athorough mixture is obtained. The curing is effected while the goods arerotated in the machine, such as one used for dyeing, (for example, aSmith-Drum rotary hosiery drying machine). As a test, a 600 cc. beakersample solution may be taken from the machine and about five to tendrops of the above described nylon water miscible solution is addedwhich should make a perfect emulsion. If the emulsion should curd,suflicient alcohol (about 2 to 4 lbs.) is added to the water misciblenylon solution before adding the latter to the finishing bath. Thisaddition, however, is seldom necessary. The water miscible nylonemulsion is then added to the machine, the temperature is raised to 95F. and the machine is run for about five minutes, then dissolvedMethacrol NH is added. The machine is run another five minutes anddissolved citric acid is added to aid' in the curing process and thetemperature is thereafter gradually raised to. about 105 F. The machineis run about five minutes so as to extract and dry the treated cloth.Garments stay in the bath until the whitish emulsion is exhausted andthe water clears-usually about ten, minutes.

In order to obtain a firmer finish, there is added. about six additionalpounds of Methacrol NH. To obtain a very soft finish, Methacrol NH isomitted or about a half pound of. Fara softener (av cationic softenerwith the fatty ester type) is added.

An alternate formula which is particularly useful for finishing hosieryis as follows:

For each 100 pounds of nylon hosiery that is dyed and thoroughiy'rinsed,use:

15 lbs. 2 lbs. 4 oz. 3- lbs; 3 lbs.

The alcohol is added to the nylon water emulsive solution, the emulsion.is then. tested and added to the finish bath at atemperature of about 90F. to 95 F. and the machine is run. for about 5 minutes. The citric acidis dissolved and added slowly to the revolving machine. The dull powderis. dissolved and added slowly to the finish. bath, and the machine isrun for about 5 minutes before adding the dissolved Methacrol NH. Afterthe Methacrol has been added, the machine is run an additionaLS minutes,followed by the extracting and boarding operation.

For 30 denier stockings, a suitable solution is 20% ny- 1011 watermiscible emulsion and for 1-5 denier stockings; 25% nylon water miscibleemulsion, by weight.

The exact chemical reaction by which nylon is bonded to the nylon fabricin the curing process is not clear, but it appears that there is achemical change between the emulsion, nylon fiber and the bonding agentscausing the finish to become a part of the fiber itself.

The finish cannot be seen, that is, there is virtually no change inappearance between treated and: untreated nylon fabric. The finish givesa slightlyduller appearance; to the nylon fabric and a diiferent feel,especially when wet. Also, it imparts a softer and silkier feel as wellas pliability and warmth not usually associated with untreated fabric.The finish enables the fabric to absorb and disperse moisture muchfaster than untreated garments by capillary action. This quickabsorption and spreading. of the moisture removes perspirationimmediately from the skin and speeds evaporation. This. does away withthe feeling of stickiness or clamminess usually associated with nylonfabric and makes the garment much morev comfortable to Wear.

Thusv it will be seen that we have provided a novel formula which forthe first time, so far as we are aware, enables the making of a watermiscible nylon emulsion, which. emulsion is useful in a finishing bathto give the nylon material being treated amazing water absorbingcharacteristics which will enable nylon garments for the first time toreadily absorb moisture or perspiration from the body when worn, therebygiving substantially greater comfort to the wearer both in winter andsummer. Thus treated nylon is made suitable for year around COfllfOlt.able year. While the above described process is highly useful intreating nylon woven and knit fabrics, it is also useful for treatingother materialssuch as rayon, acetates and wool, the felting andshrinking characteristics. ofthe latter being prevented by finishing bythe process described herein. Not only is the nylon or other fabricconverted from a nonabsorbing to an absorbing material, insofar as bodyperspiration is concerned, but it has additional highly usefulcharacteristics such as highly improved snag, flexing and abrasionratings as compared to those. of harsher resin. finishes. Also, thebursting strength is substantially greater than fabrics having otherfinishes. Nylon fabric treated by the process described herein. isconsiderably more flexible, being more flexible after washing thanuntreated fabric and also having satisfactory stretch durability.Furthermore, the desirable. fast drying, characteristic of nylon is notappreciably afiected by thetprocessdescribed herein,.hence stockingsand-other clothing treated by the present process will dry withgreatspeed.

While the above described formulas and processes-are characteristic ofthe present inventiomit will be apparent to those skilled in the artthat departures may be made in both insofar as the specific materialsused, the. percentage composition, and the specific steps of theprocesswithout departing from; the spirit of the present invention ascoveredbythe'following claims.

We claim:

1. A solution for forming an aqueous. emulsion when mixed with largequantities of water so as to deposit: a linear polyamide coating ontextiles when immersed in the emulsion, comprising; in proportion byweight: about 200 to 250 lbs. of water, about 800 to 900 lbs'. of analcohol having a boiling point less than C. having dissolved thereinabout 35 to. 45 lbs. of N-methoxymethyl polyhexarnethylene adipamide,about 35 to 45 lbs. of a nonionic, surface active, emulsifying agent andabout 35 to 45 lbs. of a partially stabilizing ester of a carbohydrateand organic acid, which will remain completely dissolved insaidsolution.

2. A solution suitable for forming; an emulsion-when mixed withwaterfor. treating; fabrics, comprisingthe-fol- 2,746,941 5 lowingcomposition in the following proportions by an alcohol having a boilingpoint less than 100 C.; and weight: about 35 to 45 lbs. N-methoxymethylpolyhex about 200 to 250 lbs. of water. amethylene adipamide; 35 to 45lbs. sucrose octaacetate; 35 to 45 lbs. of an alkyl phenyl ether ofpolyethylene References cued mthe file of Patent glycol wherein thealkyl group is selected from the group 5 UNITED STATES PATENTSconsisting of octyl and nonyl radicals; 800 to 900 lbs. of 2,405,965Leekley Aug. 20, 1946

1. A SOLUTION FOR FORMING AN AQUEOUS EMULSION WHEN MIXED WITH LARGEQUANTITIES OF WATER SO AS TO DEPOSIT A LINEAR POLYAMIDE COATING ONTEXILES WHEN IMMERSED IN THE EMULSION, COMPRISING, IN PROPORTION BYWEIGHT: ABOUT 200 TO 250 LBS. OF WATER, ABOUT 800 TO 900 LBS. OF ANALCOHOL HAVING A BOILING POINT LESS THA 100* C. HAVING DISSOLVED THEREINABOUT 35 TO 45 LBS. OF N-METHOXYMETHYL POLYHEXAMETHYLENE ADIPAMIDE,ABOUT 35 TO 45 LBS. OF A NONIONIC, SURFACE ACTIVE, EMULSIFYING AGENT ANDABOUT 35 TO 45 LBS. OF A PARTIALLY STABILIZING ESTER OF A CARBOHYDRATEAND ORGANIC ACID, WHICH WILL REMAIN COMPLETELY DISSOLVED IN SAIDSOLUTION.